Harry Potter Moment of the Week (#38)

hosted by Uncorked Thoughts.

Character you wish you could erase:

Right off the top of my head I would erase Lucius Malfoy because man is he one of the most annoying characters in this series.  I mean, he really provides nothing but mayhem wherever he goes including to his own family.  He screws up and Voldemort puts Draco's life in peril as punishment.  He puts the Tom's diary into Ginny's books, he's the reason for quite a bit of Draco's idiocy and all of his 'My father will hear about this!' cries.

I mean Narcissa is not innocent of Draco's awful and arrogant upbringing but in the end she chose her son over Voldemort so at least she's got a redeeming factor there.  Lucius is a product of irritation and intolerance.  He's not even a good villain.  He whimpers and gets caught and he's constantly talking about how great his family is; it's like he's the Lockhart of the Harry Potter Villains.

The Girl on the Train

by Paula Hawkins
published: Riverhead Books, 2015
pages: 336

Rachel takes the same train everyday and she passes by the same nice suburban houses and families.  She's even given names to some of the people she see regularly.  They remind her of the life she once had.  But what happens when those people become more than just passing glances in her life?  Rachel see something shocking and decides to go to the police with the information.  But in her attempt to do good could she possibly be making things worse not only for them, but for her as well?

One of the reasons this book is so suspenseful is that the narrators are all unreliable.  You never know if what they are telling you is true or how that truth is distorted.  None of them have the whole truth.  The reader gets the whole truth only because we are allowed to draw conclusions from three different points of view.  I loved that you couldn't trust anyone.  That's one of my favorite things about this book.

It was, however, a relatively slow read for me.  I felt like there was a quite a bit of slog before the action really hit.  For about two thirds of the book I was wondering when we would hit the main action of the book.  This was the biggest let down for me.  I would have liked to see the action hit a bit sooner in the story.  I love slow burn novels and tension building but it was almost too slow.  I was hooked just enough to need to finish to find out "who done it".

The characters kept me going.  I really enjoyed the different character perspectives and learning information through their perspectives.  I loved not being told specific characteristics about the characters but rather figuring out aspects of their life based on their actions and interactions with other people.  There's nothing more satisfying when the gears start to click in place and you realize that one of the characters has a problem and another isn't being honest with themselves. (This is really vague because I didn't want to give out specific examples.  That would ruin the fun for others.)

Overall, Paula Hawkins has an incredibly suspenseful novel that will capture the attention of those that love a good psychological thriller.

Stars: 3.5/5

Praise:

"Like the train, the story blasts through the stagnation of these lives in suburban London and the reader cannot help but turn pages."
     --The Boston Globe

"The Girl on the Train has more fun with unreliable narration than any chiller since Gone Girl... [It] is liable to draw a large, bedazzled readership."
     --The New York Times

"Gone Girl fans will devour this psychological thriller."
     --People

Top Ten Tuesday: Books Which Feature Musical Characters

hosted by The Broke and the Bookish.

I love a good book about music and people who are musically inclined.  It doesn't matter if that's the central point of the story or just a beautiful side note.  I love imagining the music coming from the books.

1. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J. K. Rowling (The Sorting Hat) - This series features the sorting hat which sings a little song every year at the beginning of the school year.  Every year the hat sings a new song, as long as Hogwarts has been open the sorting hat never sang the same song twice.  I love it!

2. If I Stay by Gayle Forman (Mia and Adam) - We get two very different musicians in this book.  I absolutely love how passionate Mia is about her cello and I love how devoted Adam is to his guitar and his band.  The power of music and how it moves people is running through this novel.

3. Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell (Park) - While Park isn't in the traditional sense musically gifted, he does has a passion for music that extents to knowing what people (Eleanor) will like before they know it.  Someone who devotes that much time to music surely deserves a spot on this list.

4. Orphan Train by Christina Baker Kline (Dutchy) - How Dutchy found his way to playing the piano and loving it is amazing.  I love that when life wasn't great he had something he loved to turn to.  I can just imagine how great a piano player he must be.

5. City of Bones by Cassandra Clare (Simon) - Simon is in a band, which I immediately love.  I'm not sure how good they actually are but he's in a band nonetheless.  It's probably one of my favorite things about Simon.

6. Percy Jackson and the Olympians (Grover) - This satyr has a set of pipes that are supposed to lull just about anyone.  While it's clear that Grover isn't the most talented satyr, it's still great that he has this ability.  It's hilarious on more than one occasion and has served him well.

7. Will Grayson, Will Grayson by John Green and David Levithan (Tiny Cooper) - Tiny Cooper may not play any instruments but he wrote an entire musical about his life and man, oh man, it is amazing!

8. Guitar Notes by Mary Amato (Tripp and Lyla) - This is another one of those cello and guitar stories, but it doesn't make it any less unique.  I love that their passion for music bonds them together and challenges each other.

9. The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien (The dwarves) - I think most of the races in Middle Earth are musically inclined but I love that the dwarves have epic poems and songs that tell their history.  It's a beautiful way to record the past.

10. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak (Hans Hubermann) - He has an accordion that he loves to play and it's not a typical instrument.  I love it.  He plays it because he enjoys it, but he also plays it to calm others down in tense and terrifying moments.  I love that he uses his gift to help others!

Notable Quotable: Marie Lu (#72)

"My mother used to hope that I would rise up from my humble roots.  Become someone successful, or even famous.  I'm famous all right, but I don't think it's what she had in mind." 
     --Legend

Harry Potter Moment of the Week (#37)

hosted by Uncorked Thoughts.

Character you wished you invented:

I think it's probably a tie between Peeves and Luna.  Here's why.

Peeves is crazy and hilarious and just the right amount of crude to be annoying and yet endearing.  He knows where his loyalties lie and even though he doesn't often show it he will protect Hogwarts and the students in it when it comes down to it.  His respect is hard to earn, but when people do it's an amazing thing.  I love that he messes not only with the students but with the professors as well.  I think it's hysterical that he's just a crazy character.

Luna is the person I wish I could be.  She is incredibly secure in who she is and how quirky she is.  Yes, she doesn't have many friends but the ones she does have are the truest of friends.  She's so odd and hilarious and yet she speaks wisdom and truth from her strangeness.  Harry and company find a friend in her because they are able to see that she is more than her quirks.  She is brave and stubborn and determined and thoughtful and kind and beautiful and loyal and joyful and optimistic.  Luna is the kind of person, everyone should hope to be like.

These characters are so complexed, it's amazing.  I hope that some of my characters turn out to be as great.

Eleanor & Park

by Rainbow Rowell
published: St. Martin's Press, 2013
pages: 328

Eleanor meets Park on her first day of school when he saves her from the nightmare that is the school bus.  Despite the fact that they didn't talk, they manage to bond and form a relationship that is tested in every possible way.  Eleanor is radiant and defiant and Park is observant and methodical and they are both gliding through life, flying under the radar.  Will real life bring them together or tear them completely apart?

I absolutely could not put this book down.  I was sucked in from the very beginning by the incredible characters.  Eleanor and Park are enchantingly odd characters that you can't help but love.

My heart goes out to both Eleanor and Park for their different living situations, their joys and grievances.  They each deal uniquely with hard situations  and their relationship becomes their solace.  The story being told is not only their love story but the story of their growth as people in an environment that isn't always nurturing.

I've been complaining lately about parents being almost nonexistent in books, but in this book not only are the parents present but they are vibrant and essential characters.  They act like actual parents, which is so much better than shell parent characters.  They give and deny permission, punish and reward based on behavior and they prove to be an essential part of this story.

The ending of this book is incredible, like mind shattering, dangerous and wonderful.  There is so much tension and anxiety surrounding it and the actual ending is perfectly realistic and not at all wrapped nicely in a little bow.  I think that's one of the reasons I love this book so much.  It felt authentic like I was reading about someone's actual life.

Rainbow Rowell once again makes me feel very strongly about fictional characters in the best way.  I love her writing and I love this story.  I cannot wait to get my hands on more of her work.

Stars 5/5

Praise:

"Rowell keeps things surprising, and the solution maintains the novel's delicate balance of light and dark."
     --Publisher's Weekly, starred review

"Funny, hopeful, foulmouthed, sexy and tear-jerking, this winning romance will captivate teen and adult readers alike."
     --Kirkus Reviews, starred review

"The pure, fear-laced, yet steadily maturing relationship Eleanor and Park develop is urgent and breathtaking and, of course, heartbreaking, too."
     --Booklist

An Alphabet Soup Challenge Book.
A 2015 Book Blogger Recommendation Challenge book.  

Top Ten Tuesday: ALL TIME FAVORITE AUTHORS

hosted by The Broke and the Bookish.

These are not in any particular order, but I feel like I talk about these authors all the time! (which would make sense because they are my favorite.)

1. J.K. Rowling - Duh.

2. Lemony Snicket - Growing up he was one of my favorite authors and the fact that he inserted himself into the Unfortunate Events.  I haven't read his other series but I love him!

3. Marissa Meyer -  I LOVE her fairytale retelling series and everything she's written is beautiful and clever and amazing and she was quickly added to my list last year.  I cannot wait to finish The Lunar Chronicles and anything she writes in the future.

4. Rainbow Rowell - She has recently joined the ranks of my all time favorite authors because I can't get enough of her writing.  I believe there are only two of her books that I haven't read but that will be rectified soon.

5. John Green - I have mad respect for this author and I can go back to his books again and again.  He knows how to make me cry and feel deeply, I love that about his writing.

6. Marie Lu - I love her storytelling and her characters.  She wrote a trilogy that finished strong and I love that!  She's definitely high on my list of all time favorite authors. I cannot wait to read her next series.

7. Kate DiCamillo - I love all her books, every single one of them.  She has a way of telling stories and dealing with hard topics and beautifully writes not only for kids but for everyone who loves a good story.

8. Harper Lee - She may be publishing a book this summer, but she once said that she only had one story to share and she did and that was enough for her.  I love how confident she was in herself and her abilities.  She was genuinely writing for herself.